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Have Canadian soccer fans forgotten about that controversial loss the women’s team suffered against the Americans in the semi-finals at the 2012 London Olympics? As they say over in Blighty, not bloody likely.

There’s no way they’ve forgotten. In fact, every time American goalkeeper Nicole Barnhart touched the ball at BMO Field on Sunday afternoon, the Canadian fans in the south end of the stadium began to count loudly — a sarcastic reminder to London when Canadian keeper Erin McLeod was penalized for holding on to the ball for more than six seconds — a call that led to an American penalty kick, then a free kick and goal, which tied the game 3-3, setting up extra time, which the Americans won to move on to the gold medal match.

Numerous times on Sunday in the highly-anticipated friendly between the two rivals — which resulted in a 3-0 USA win in front of a record soccer crowd at BMO Field of 22,453 — Barnhart held on to the ball after the count reached six, resulting in a chorus of boos, but no calls from Mexican referee Quetzalli Alvarado.

“Bring back the Norwegian referee. We’d have been in heaven today,” said Canadian coach John Herdman, in reference to Olympic ref Christina Pedersen and her infamous call. “It was unbelievable, eh? There should have been about 23 free kicks, shouldn’t there?”

Herdman was joking, sort of.

Sunday’s match was the first between the two arch-rivals since the semi in London and the buildup was tremendous. The game was sold out in a matter of hours. Unfortunately for the Canadian fans, the Americans, as they usually do, dominated the play, recording 13 goal attempts to two for Canada and seven shots on target compared to none for the red and white.

With Canada hosting the World Cup in 2015, the challenge to close the gap on the world’s No.1 team will be huge, and Herdman knows it. He described Sunday’s game as a reality check, for his team and their fans.

“Winning the World Cup in Canada will be one helluva job,” the coach said. “Getting that bronze medal (in London) was like catching lightning in a bottle. But we did it. And we can do it again. (But) what people don’t realize, we only had six odd shots in London, to their 22.”

Canada kept the U.S. from getting any major chances on Sunday until the second half, though the floodgates opened in the final 20 minutes when forward Alex Morgan scored a pair of goals after breaking down the left side. On her first goal, at the 70th minute, Morgan made a nifty move around Canadian defender Emily Zurrer, and then scored again two minutes later, both goals fired into the corner past a diving McLeod. Morgan would have had a hat trick if not for 17-year-old Kadeisha Buchanan of Mississauga, one of the future stars of the Canadian team, making a stop on a Morgan header right at the goal line early in the half.

Canadian-born Sydney Leroux also scored for the U.S. in extra time on a nice rush around a Canadian defender, though she didn’t make herself any new friends in her home country when, after scoring, pulled on her jersey to show off the USA emblem and put her finger to her lips when the crowd booed.

“Maybe not the classiest of moves,” said Canadian team captain Christine Sinclair of Leroux’s stunt. “But she scored on us and they can do what they like. I probably wouldn’t have done the same, but you move on.”

Leroux’s teammate Abby Wambach, who scored the tying goal for the U.S. in the semi in London, said she was proud of Leroux.

“If you knew all the things that some of the Canadian folks Tweet at her ... That, for her, was a special moment,” said Wambach. “And that for her was saying, ‘Hey, look, I’m here on the U.S. team.’”

Leroux said she didn’t mind the booing, though she does believe that it’s time the Canadian fans got over the fact that she chose to play for the U.S.

“I mean, come on. It’s been quite of few years, and how many American-born players do you have in Canada?” she said.

Herdman agreed that it’s better that Canadian supporters let any grudge against Leroux go.

“I’d love Sydney to be playing for Canada. Imagine her playing upfront with Sinclair and (Melissa) Tancredi,” he said. “But she’s not, and I think we have to just let it go.”

Though the Americans are the class of women’s soccer, Sunday’s match did prove that the rivalry between the two North American sides is as intense as ever, in fact, more so than he years past when Canada couldn’t compete with the U.S.

“I’m proud this is a rivalry,” said Wambach. “They’ve got special players.”

Americans best rival Canada in friendly rematch

World's No. 1 team too much for Canucks

Have Canadian soccer fans forgotten about that controversial loss the women’s team suffered against the Americans in the semi-finals at the 2012 London Olympics? As they say over in Blighty, not bloody likely.

There’s no way they’ve forgotten. In fact, every time American goalkeeper Nicole Barnhart touched the ball at BMO Field on Sunday afternoon, the Canadian fans in the south end of the stadium began to count loudly — a sarcastic reminder to London when Canadian keeper Erin McLeod was penalized for holding on to the ball for more than six seconds — a call that led to an American penalty kick, then a free kick and goal, which tied the game 3-3, setting up extra time, which the Americans won to move on to the gold medal match.